Take a little time

I went out with my sister tonight. It felt so great to get away. As much as I love my kids dearly, sometimes I just need to punch out. It’s funny, I remember after I had my first one the hardest thing for me to get used to was the 24/7 round the clock on demand schedule. I remember Josh was about 3 or 4 weeks old and it was coming up to a weekend and usually I was always excited for the weekend. The workweek was over and Michael and I would get 2 days off. But not any more, now Saturday looked just like Monday and the night looked just like the day. This kid demanded he eat every 2 hours Monday-to-Monday, and sunrise-to-sunrise. But as time went on and I adjusted to momhood and the baby at least started letting me sleep through the night, I soon began to look forward to weekends again. Michael would be off work hanging out with us, and that was always a nice change of pace. I wasn’t nearly so overwhelmed when kid number 2 came along. Granted the sleepless nights were still rough, but the motherhood role was such a part of me I no longer felt so overwhelmed. I flowed with life and cherished the moments. And although motherhood runs through my whole being and I am very proud of the mom I have become, I certainly have handle more than I thought I ever could, I have to remind myself to take that time just for me. That time I felt like one new born stole from me, I now forget to take because I am so engulfed in my role. But what I have realized is if I take that time, I am an even better mom for it. So it was great to laugh at my sister about motherhood. Looking at how exhausting it can be sometimes, wondering how we do what we do, yet so glad we do it.

So to all the moms out there…take yourself out for coffee, and pat yourself on the back.

Potty on the go, eeeeewwwww.

Ok, well I am glad we are potty training but it is a bit crazy. Any time Bo says he has to go potty I am running for the nearest toilet. So today we were at Hawk Island splash pad and Bo said he has to go. Yeah. How great, we are having fun he says he has to go. So we head to the bathrooms. In a public restroom I always thought it was easier with the boys, not so much with Bo. His short stubby legs just don’t make him tall enough to stand. So there I am in a public restroom trying to bless the toilet and put my kid in a bubble (haha) as I sit him up on it backwards (this works best for balance) Of course before I can say, “Don’t touch the seat with your hands” he has already gripped both sides to hold him up. “Gross” I am thinking at this point in time. Good new is he peed. So we threw our potty party with our voices echoing through the stalls. I am then holding his swimsuit while he steps his legs in and I feel his pudgy hand grab my shoulder for support. “Ewwww, I could just feel the green gremlin germs jumping off his hand and onto my shoulder.” I am glad the splash pad shoots out chlorinated water. So after we “took a shower” in the “sink” we went back for the fun. Later while loading up in the van getting ready to home, Bo said those famous words, “I gotta go potty” So we walked all the way back to the public restrooms and went back through the same nasty scenario I just explained above only this time he didn’t pee and we weren’t headed back to the chlorine. Yuck. And to top it off we went through all that only for him to pee his pants when we got to by in-laws. Seriously, if I wasn’t going to avoid the accident I would have left the green gremlins IN the public restroom.

Potty party

It’s the Potty party. Every time Bo pees on the potty he runs out of the bathroom and we all make a huge fuss. Bo came out of the bathroom tonight and his Dad gave him high fives. My husband looked as though the red wings just scored to win in the last 30 seconds. I could practically see the streamers and confetti coming from the ceiling. All his siblings were cheering and he was running to me for more high fives. He is so proud and so are we. For the past 2 years Bo has worked his hardest to be as high maintenance as he can be. But the potty training has not been so bad. As I started this morning I just wanted to quit. I remembered all the wet and poopy underpants from the first three kids and I just didn’t think I had it in me to do it one more time. But I just let him run around naked for the morning prepared to quit after the first accident and wait till the kids went back to school. My friend convinced me to just let him work at it while we were home and put a pull up on him when we left the house. I realized I was functioning with the “all or nothing” mind set. I was prepared to stay home for 3 days and go at it like the army. When she said this I felt the weight lift. I let it work with my schedule rather than put my summer on hold. So I let all my expectations go and decided to just role with whatever Bo did. But he just kept going on the potty, or outside in the trees, which is how it works out here in the sticks, as many of you know. I can barely convince my husband we have indoor plumbing. Anyway, he is doing great so far. Maybe later I will have more entertaining potty training stories for you. But for now I will take the one easy road Bo has decided to take and savor the moment.

Is it time for chocolate yet?

Oh my gosh. Is it time for chocolate yet. Well, Bo has been going “potty on the pot” these days so I decided to run into Jackson this afternoon and get groceries so I could spend the next 2 days staying home letting him wear underwear. I went to Sams and Meijer. The Sams trip went pretty smooth. We even stopped so Bo could use the potty. Yeah! I was quite excited. When we went to Meijer Timmy was starting to fade so I rented one of those video carts so they both could sit down. The problem is Bo won’t watch TV. He watches for about 10 minutes and then he is done. So after the first 10 minutes of shopping the boys are fighting. Timmy pesters Bo and then Bo whines at Timmy. And then Bo wants to sit where Timmy is sitting but Timmy doesn’t want to move. And then I become that mom snapping at her kids in the middle of Meijer, “Sit down! Be quiet. Stop whining. Don’t touch your brother! Don’t hit your brother!” Eventually Bo is whining cause he wants out, but I won’t let him out ‘cause frankly I would like to get home some time tonight. Then I felt my cart run over something. I thought it was a rock. I look in front and Bo is hanging through the “lack of” windshield on this car contraption and I just ran over his hand. And then came the screams. Oh yes; now I was the mom who just ran over her own child with a shopping cart. Sad thing is after I realized no fingers were broken, the line that went through my head while I was hugging my child was “see, now if you would just stay in the cart I paid a whole dollar for you to sit in, this wouldn’t have happened”. After holding him for a couple minutes I put him back in the cart and he cried while I grabbed the remaining 5 items on the list. He finally quit crying when we picked out his new “train” underwear. Check out went pretty smooth thankfully, and then for some reason Bo decided to cry all the way home. The whole 30-minute drive I could see his squinched up eyes, his wrinkled nose and his poor little tear filled cheeks in my rear view mirror. At one point in time he had his arms reaching for me. Yup. I ran over my kid in Meier and now he is strapped in a car seat crying all the way home. At this point I am imagining a great big bowl of chocolate ice cream topped with peanut butter cups just waiting for me!!!!!! We did make it home and after a big bowl of spaghetti he had finally calmed down. He was wearing his train underwear and seemed very excited about them. However, although he had been peeing on the pot all day. Just after dinner, with his brand new underwear he was sitting on the couch and I heard him say “Huuuuh. Pee made a mess.” Yup, he peed on my couch. Where is my chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A kid laugh a day, melts the stress away

I found myself sitting one my bed tonight listening to the water slosh in the washer and the clothes in the dryer flopping over and over with and occasional scraping of a zipper or button. I took a deep breath of relaxation. The day was finished and everyone was tucked away, sleeping peacefully. As I reflected on my day the thing that stands out to me the most is my kids laughing. All through out the day at some point in time I remember each kid laughing. I can still see Bo’s chubby face, teeth filled grin accompanied by a great big belly laugh imprinted in my mind. Yeah sure they grumbled a bit this morning when it was time for chores. And yes I had to tell Timmy 3 times to get dressed. Bo stood on a chair today and decided to rearrange the fridge magnets and also erased my calendar. Yeah, the whole month is wiped off. So hopefully I can recall whatever engagements I had. And tonight while trying to put him to bed he spent 10 min. trying to go potty. Yeah, normally I wouldn’t let him stall, but when it comes to this stall tactic he does have me wrapped around his finger, I do want to encourage the potty training. Finally, I pulled him of the potty and got him to bed. Unfortunately he didn’t go to sleep with out a fight. He cried for about 10 minutes while I was down stairs filling out the for sale sign that read “ cute toddler, for sale, eats a lot, plays in the toilet, and doesn’t like to go to sleep.” Finally, he quit crying and I decided not to print the sign. Now the day is done and when I let all the cares go. When I let all the laundry I didn’t get done go. When I let all the parenting moments I am not proud of just fade away. When I let my mind freely reflect on the day I just see the kids laughing and I have to smile. They are just the greatest things in this whole world I am so fortunate to have.

Camping "vacation"????

My husband was a camper as a kid right up until he married me. And even for the first year before kids and up to our second kid we camped a couple of times. I had never been camping as a kid and was fascinated by the idea! Well, now that we have 4 kids, one of whom is EXTREMELY busy, I am not so fond of the idea.
Whenever he talks about camping I just look at him and say, “Honey, why would I go on “vacation” to work harder than I do at home.” My idea of vacation is going somewhere the beds are “pre-maid” and magically made for you every day while you are out. Not packing my own bedding and mattress and assembling them in a hut I can’t even stand up in when we get there. My idea of vacation is not taking a shower bag down the street to take a shower in a box that sprays luke warm water and my flip flops must remain on my feet at ALL times. Or having to stumble across the grassy way with a flashlight in my hand just to “tinkle” in the middle of the night where I have to line the toilet seat with toilet paper at 3 AM. Or escort my kids across the grassy way to the bathroom in the night. At home they handle all that themselves, I barley hear the toilet flush. Oh yes and while we are at it, as if dishes aren’t annoying enough to wash with electricity and hot water, lets wash them with out power in buckets just for “FUN”. So this past weekend when our extended family planned a “family” camping trip just 35 min from my house. Yup, you guessed it. Michael and our older 3 kids roughed it, while Bo and I went up during the day and came home to our bed at night. I put Bo in bed at 11pm and he woke up at 11am. I slept in a cool comfy bed in a room about 72 degrees, listening to the hummmm of my ceiling fan. Mike and the kids. Well, they were sleeping in a bed of sand, in a room of 82 degrees, listening to the hummmmmm of mosquitoes looking for a midnight snack. And from the looks of all of them when I arrived the next day, they were the buffet of choice.

Family Ties

Today I soaked up a scene I have imprinted in my mind as I write. The scene is my 3 cousins and I all in the same room with kids, our parents and spouses all around us, yet everything seemed quiet accept for my cousins and I. It was like in the movies when the background noise gets quiet and blurry. These particular cousins are the family I spent most of my “kidhood” with. We were very close and even lived with each other throughout our lives. And even when we didn’t live with each other we would spend the weekends at each other’s houses. But now we are spread out separated by many states. One of my cousins is in the army and just returned from Haiti. As were were all in the same room again I began to reminisce of the past. Running through the sprinkler, riding bikes through mud muddles and of course falling off horses together. Sarah did most of the falling, but Dan was the one who lost he spleen, and Katie, well she just laughed no matter who was falling off. It’s funny, when you are kids being raised together you never think for a moment that it won’t always be that way. It is times like these that I do my best to cherish the moments. I am so grateful for my extended family. I cherish the memories made in the past, soak up the present, and look forward to the new memories yet to come. It’s times like these when I think about how many of us who live near our families don’t see each other or even get along. It times like these that all the little disagreements or silly things just don’t matter. All the stuff we take personally and let eat at our hearts and rob us from the precious moments we take for granted. Cause when comes down to it. The only thing that really matters is that my cousins know I love them and am so grateful they are all in my life, despite the miles between us.

Crazy huh

I was playing in my softball game tonight and I found my worried about missing a catch. When you are playing right field you may only get one ball, if any hit to you, so that one catch is really your pass or fail moment of the night, so it seems any way. Well, about the 2nd inning I thought to myself, “seriously, this is not something you really need to waste time thinking about. I mean really what is the point in playing the game if you are just going to worry about it. Just have fun playing the game you love to play.” At that point I tossed my cares aside and just had fun. It got me thinking about how often we waste time worrying about stuff that just doesn’t even matter. We spent countless minutes worrying about things that might happen and but never do. And even the things that do happen, if we didn’t “worry” about it ahead of time that is just more moments of the day to enjoy. Just think about your day. And then think of all the things you stress about that just don’t REALLY matter. Crazy huh.

Monday, Monday

Monday, Monday. Monday’s are what I call my “catch up” day. Usually I plan nothing for this day so I can stay home and clean up the aftermath of the weekend and do laundry. And since I don’t do any laundry on the days Fri. Sat. and Sun, with a family of 6, laundry is an all day job!!!! I actually like to take Monday and “try” and accomplish a lot. The quotations on the word “try” because Bo has a different opinion than me. First he is hungry and wants watermelon, which I send him OUTSIDE to eat. This keeps my floor clean but cant say the same for my doorknobs. After 4 watermelon wedges, him coming back in the house to throw the rind away, the doorknob is pretty sticky. And then my cute little nephew shows up because I am babysitting for a couple hours today. Bo and Ayden are going in and out of the house; Timmy is starving and wants Mac-n-cheese. From the sounds of his whining it sound like I haven’t fed him in days. After the little boys being together for 2 hours I took a look around my house that was supposed to be improving on this “catch up” day. The toy room was destroyed, the garage had balls scattered all over it, the boys room had a box of plastic tools, screws and nuts and bolts dumped out. And the magnets on the calendar board were scattered. On my kitchen floor there was 1 ½ PB& J sandwiches, a handful of captain crunch, 3 empty juice boxes and a couple of blueberries. The boys ended up in my room jumping on my bed, but I booted them out. My bed was made and frankly that looked like the only thing I had accomplished by 1:00. After Ayden left I thought I would accomplish more. I sent the kids down to watch a movie with Bo. Well, Josh, Kate, and Timmy enjoyed the movie. But Bo lasted about 15 minutes and then he was upstairs “helping” me put my laundry away. His idea of putting my laundry away is him putting my bra on. That’s is quite funny to see at least the comic relief does distract me from my lack of accomplishment.. Bo finally decided to go watch Kate on the computer and I worked as fast as I could while he was occupied. I did manage to get the house picked up and most of the laundry done.

A day at the beach with 5 kids and 2 moms

A day at the beach with 5 kids and 2 moms sounds a lot like this….

“Yeah, the beach!” “Ok kids don’t walk on the blanket with your sandy feat.” The kids run off to play and for 15 minutes it is bliss with a random head count 1,2,3,4,5, and then comes the next 2 hours…“Mom, I’m hungry.” Head count 1,2,3,4,5. “That’s my sand toy!” “Mom, I have to go potty.” Walk all the way to the bathroom and all the way back down. OK head count 1,2,3,4,5. “Stop, don’t walk on the blaket” “Mom, the baby is messing up my river.” Oh no the baby is eating the sand. “Stop, eating the sand.” “Stop drinking the lake water.” Head count 1,2,3,4….Oh no, where is Bo, oh there he is chasing the sea gulls. “Come, back here Bo.” “No, no Bo you don’t fit in the baby floaty.” Head count 1,2,3,4,5. “Mom, I have to go potty.” Walk all the way to the bathroom and all the way back down. OK head count 1,2,3,4,5 “Josh don’t fling your sandy towel around” “Don’t stick your sandy, lake water hand into the chip bag. I’ll hand them to you.” “Wait, keep your muddy feet off the blanket, PLEASE.” Head count 1,2,3,4,5. “Go feed the sea gulls AWAY from the blanket.” “Mom, Kate is splashing me and I am trying to fish. She is scarign the fish away.” “That’s my shovel” “Mom, I have to go potty.” Walk all the way to the bathroom and all the way back down. OK head count 1,2,3,4,5 “Stop, don’t walk on the blanket.” Head count 1,2,3,4,5. “Mom, Bo is walking on my sand castle” “Mom, I’m hungry again” Mom, I have to go potty.” Walk all the way to the bathroom and all the way back down. OK head count 1,2,3,4,5

What would you do for your favorite bowl of ice cream?

What would you do for a scoop of yummy ice cream with 8 kids in the house you did not want to share it with? My friend and her four kids came over today. We had gotten rained out of the pool. Literally, we were in the pool and it started to dump the rain. At first we figured all water was water and just let the kids play in the rain, but when a big, huge crack of thunder practically made us ALL jump out of our skin, we were out of the pool and back at my house making pizza. After lunch the kids scooped themselves some mint ice cream. Then I sent them all outside to eat it. While they were outside I grabbed the “Butterfinger” ice cream out of my basement freezer. Yummm. I love this stuff. However, I knew if I shared it with 8 kids it would be gone in no time. Granted I would consume LESS calories, but hey, what’s the fun in that. Haha. Anyway, I scooped my friend and I a bowl and we sat on the couch to eat it. We barely got one bite in our mouths and a couple of kids came wondering in. (They travel in pairs. I have for and she has each ones counter part. It is a great system) So two came in and we are scrambling to hide our ice cream behind pillows and couches. Finally, I boot them out saying we are having adult conversation. And back to the ice cream we went. Then of course, a couple minutes later 2 more popped in. “Ok, get what you need and go somewhere else, we are having adult conversation” I repeated the speech. Once they were gone, back to the ice cream we went. I did this 3 times and finally just locked the door. I remember getting locked out as a kid too. My parents always said it was because we kept going in and out. But I bet they were just trying to sneak their favorite ice cream. haha

Meijer without kids, yet still an adventure

So last night I went into Meijer. I was kid free and was so excited about pushing the “little” blue cart. Ya know, the one you aren’t even allowed to put a kid in. I was going in to buy a big bag of cat food. I was aware that it would not entirely fit on my “little” cart, but I figured I could let some of the bag hang off. I didn’t need anything else anyway. Well, of course as I made my way through the store I remembered items I needed. The first thing was toilet paper. So I bought the “big” package of toilet paper, and grabbed the big bag of cat food. Then I needed snacks for our lake days. I kept finding things at 2 for 5. So I kept adding items 2 at a time. And then to top it off I realized I needed a case of water. My “little” cart was now totally loaded. On my way to the check out I remembered I needed juice boxes. As I made my way to the juice box isle things were dropping off my cart. But I was determined to get my juice boxes on my cart. I kept dropping things out of my cart and putting them back in all the way to the check out, but hey, at least I got to push the “little” cart. They crazy thing is all this happened after my trip to Lowe’s, for those of you who read yesterday’s post.

It's a girl! No, a boy! No wait, it's a faucet fitting?

Well today I was in Lowe’s and felt like a total girl. I guess considering the fact that I AM a girl there are worse things that have happened to me. Anyway I was already in Jackson so I stopped at Lowe’s to pick up some parts for Michael. I was looking for an outside water faucet and a fitting watchama call it, so Michael could fix our faucet that will not turn off. I spent the first 10 minutes wandering through the store before I finally asked somebody where they were. I was hoping to at LEAST find the “department” by myself. Nope. I was in isle 7 and the lady directed my to isle 34. I made my way over and found myself looking up and down isle 34 wondering if she had made a mistake. Finally, I found them. And when the girl arrived to help me I was just standing there staring at them not sure what to get. She then directed me to the bottom shelf, oh yeah; those looked much more like what I was looking for. So I then told her the line I had rehearsed on the phone with Michael before heading in. I said, “ I also need a fitting for ½ inch copper.” Her response was “Male or female”. Hmmmm. Ok I didn’t realize we had established a particular gender to water spicket fittings, but hey, I will roll with it. Not having any idea as to whether our copper was a girl or a boy, I gave Michael a call. Of course I am standing in an area with poor reception, so I had to keep repeating the line. “Is our copper male or female” “What”, I would hear him say. “Do I bring home a girl or a boy fitting”, I asked and then the call was dropped. The girl suggested I just take the “female” fitting just incase. and apparently the faucet I got was “male”. It said 10 inches on the label, but seeing how it is a “male” faucet, it is probably only 7. haha So either way I could make a match. As I made my way to the front I noticed I had a better signal, so I called Michael to give him the “match making update” Well, it turned out he needed a fitting that wasn’t male or female cause our copper piping didn’t have threads. So back to isle 34 I went. I found the “non-gender specific” section. I flagged down another worker to help me. He took me to the parts and said, “half inch IB or AD copper”. Well, to be honest those are probably not even the letters he said, I gave him a look that said “oh my gosh, my husband sent me in here for parts and I frankly I don’t know if I need boy, or girl, or what the heck part of the alphabet they come from.” He handed me the part he figured was it and I went back to the better service area to call Michael. I told him what I got and he sent me BACK for a shut off valve. Fortunately I found that without asking anyone for help. Whether or not it is the right gender or the LMNOP copper who knows, all I can say is “here ya go baby, hope it works for ya” haha I think I will go back to my old method of shopping at Lowe’s which is I walk in, find the department, and hand my phone to a worker and say, “here, can my husband talk to you.”

All day in the sun

Today we were out on the water all day. I applied the goopy, gloppy sunscreen to my kids while they had their life jackets on. Usually, I apply this stuff before the jackets are covering their body, but they heard the word “boat” and had them on 15 min. before we even left the driveway. I figured it would be fine seeing that they would have their jacket on the whole time not exposing the areas of their skin not receiving the white glop. The only problem was while they were standing, the life jacket came down further in the back than while on a tube. So, at the end of the day I started to realize the pink glow out the bottom of their jacket. Whoops! I tried drying them off and squirting the red spot at 6 o’clock. Yeah, I know, so what is the point by then. I felt so bad I had to do it to help ease my guilt. Haha Later that night when we decided it was time to quit pretending we had gills and head for land, the kids all took their jackets off and headed to the car. I watched the boys with little red circles on their lower back walk in front of me. Hmmmm. Well that’s a tan line I haven’t seen yet.

On the way home

Wow, I can’t believe how long it has been since I have written. I was out of town last week. I got home Tues. night about midnight and have been busy every since. But I must tell you about my trip home. There were some moments I was thinking “really”, cause my kids aren’t even here. One particular I will share. I arrived to my shuttle a few minutes early and ran into the hotel to get a drink. I asked the receptionist where a drinking fountain was. She barely spoke any English so I had to repeat myself a couple of times, and she eventually sent me down the hall and to the left. When I turned the corner I saw a big vending machine. Not quite what I wanted. I was just looking for a free “sip” of water. But at this point in time I decided to pay the 2 dollars for a water bottle. So I pop in the money, hit the button and it is out. So I hit the other water button and it too came up empty. Finally I just hit the root beer button and yeah!!!!!, it was a winner. I was so thirsty, I popped the top and it started spraying me. So I quickly screwed it back on. There I was with root beer running down my arm and no kids to blame it on. I slowly let the air out of my pop and wiped my arm on my jeans and climbed into the shuttle. After we all were seated the driver asked, “would anyone like a water", as he passed back water bottles.